A man has criticized a furniture firm for allegedly leaving his £2,000 leather sofa trapped in his staircase and ‘destroying’ the banister as a result.
Luke Ansell purchased the king-size Chesterfield couch bed for his new house in Bournemouth in December, and it was delivered on January 19.
The 27-year-old claims that despite the pair of deliverymen from designersofas4u.co.uk promising him that they traversed tight places “all the time,” they abandoned the delivery halfway up the stairs.
Mr. Ansell was enraged by the delivery, snapping photographs that appeared to show holes in the wall where the plaster and woodwork had been damaged as a result of the failed delivery effort.
Photos depict the sofa trapped in the stairway of Luke Ansell’s home after it was delivered on January 19.
Mr. Ansell, pictured above with his wife Eloise, has criticized the delivery drivers for causing damage to the sofa and plasterwork.
The comedy was compared to an episode of Friends in which a couch became caught on a stairway.
Luke claims he refused to sign the delivery documents after they suggested removing his banisters, and then asked they leave so they could make it back to the company’s Birmingham offices on time.
When he complained, the company apparently contradicted his account of the events, with the deliverymen denying they even attempted to carry the item up a staircase despite Luke having photographs of them at the spot.
Luke, a newlywed who co-owns the pet grooming business ‘For The Love Of Dog’ with his wife Elouise, described the service as “shocking.”
He stated, “Honestly, it was unfathomable; the sofa cost more than $2,000, and they caused roughly the same amount of damage delivering it.”
“When they arrived, I showed them where I wanted it to go in the attic.” I commented that the delivery appeared to be rather tight, but they informed me that tight deliveries are standard.
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I simply responded, “oh well you’re the experts” as they are a delivery firm, and then left them to their own devices.
They hauled it in, fought to get it over the banister, and succeeded in doing so. However, it became stuck, and they were unable to move it up or down.
Then they stated, “look we’ve got to get back to Birmingham” and attempted to leave. They requested that I sign for the shipment, but I declined.
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I responded, “I’m not signing anything, the sofa is stuck in my wall”
“We had a little fight about it, after which they advised I remove the banister to remove it.
‘It’s a brand-new home that we just purchased for $500,000, and now we have to pay to have it repaired.
Mr. Ansell stated that the sofa was left trapped in the stairway (shown) after the delivery men became unable to remove it and subsequently abandoned it.
The 27-year-old claims that the sofa’s delivery caused thousands of pounds of damage to the walls (shown).
He stated that one of the deliverymen recommended removing the banisters in order to transport the furniture.
Then they simply abandoned it there and returned to Birmingham. The drivers also claimed they did not attempt to move the item up the stairs, yet I have doorbell footage of them attempting to do so after they delivered the item to my home.
I also have a photograph showing them standing at the bottom of the steps after the harm was done.
They have ruined the plasterboard and all the timber skirting on the staircase. Additionally, they have destroyed the sofa.
When I called the main office, I received the worst customer service I have ever encountered. They eventually boarded the vehicle and drove away, leaving the sofa dangling.
Since then, the corporation has continued to deny that they brought anything up the stairs, and they have now ceased all communication.
“The entire baluster must be replaced. The residence was recently renovated. I’ve never before encountered anything comparable. They’re making every effort to escape the situation.
“As a business owner, I’ve never treated a customer this way; it’s disgraceful.”
It was a stunning answer from the corporation, therefore I’m just trying to bring attention to their service standards.
The Birmingham-based business informed the BBC that it was conducting a “interval investigation.”
The BBC reports that the company sent an email to Mr. Ansel denying his version of events, stating that the sofa had been “left in a secure location on the landing.”
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